Swept Away
by MufinXoxo
Summary: After Levy gets separated from Jet and Droy during a mission by a tornado, she soon finds out that not only wind can sweep someone away... Oneshot. Based on a prompt.


**A/N: ** I wrote a story based on a prompt, a prompt, a fantastical prompt! Look below to see the magical prompt :D -Mufin

**Prompt:** Gajeel never joined Phantom, instead after Metalicana left he wandered the outskirts of Fiore. While on a mission Levy gets separated from Jet and Droy and ends up lost in a forest. Gajeel finds her and they end up growing close as the pair travels back to Fairy Tail.  
Prompt by Lystra (a.k.a Books to Ashes (her pen name)). Go look at her wonderful stories, she's amazing and she wrote a story for me too :) . (This is sneak advertisement completely initiated on my part. Go, read her fabulous stories! (but only once you've finished this oneshot :) ) )

**Warning:** K+ .

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Please note:** Droy and Jet are in their pre-7 years-gap state, so this story takes place at some point before the time skip, presumably shortly after the phantom lord arc, which would have happened slightly differently without Gajeel there... as it stands, don't get too caught up on the details! This is fanfiction. Some small things are meant to be/can be changed :) Therefore, I am also fully aware that Gajeel only develops motion sickness later in the canon, but as it appears to be inherent to dragon slayers, he already has the uncanny disease from the beginning in this particular story.

* * *

Swept Away ~MufinXoxo

Oneshot

"I don't think we should go on that mission." Levy McGarden frowned, shaking her blue hair back and forth after she had carefully scrutinized the notice on the job board.

"But Levy, look at the reward!" Droy commented, glancing longingly at the huge print; 3 million Jewels. He was secretly hoping to buy Levy a present with the reward – possibly a library, as she liked those— in a futile attempt to win her affections.

"When we split it we still have 1 million each." Jet added, also considering what present he could buy Levy with it. Maybe a new pair of reading glasses? She only had three of those.

Levy herself was also gradually being swayed by the huge sum of money before her. Unlike Lucy she did not permanently suffer from rent-money-problems, but her own stock of cash was dangerously low after the lack of missions the previous weeks and Fairy Hills wasn't the cheapest accommodation around either.

Lucy, also looking at the job board, squinted at the description, "Well, that wasn't Natsu. We were in the other half of the country at that time. Natsu!" she shouted over, "Looks like you have a contender!"

The man in question sauntered over, "What do you mean?" His eyes focused on the job board, "Hey maybe we should—" he started before Levy quickly took the poster.

"Alright, let's go. We're doing this job." She decided before Team Natsu could claim the atrocious reward set by the city council. Droy and Jet promptly started whooping. "We'll leave in an hour."

As they all went off to gather their stuff, a 'good luck!' from Mirajane still ringing in their ears, Levy carefully thought about the mission; they were to capture a man who had wrecked half a town by himself.

She hoped it went well.

###

After having travelled by train to the town(which really was wrecked to Fairy Tail standards), they were forced to travel by foot. The mayor had outlined their mission with a snobbish air about him that had set Levy on edge. His fake, silky voice had really grated against her nerves, and she was usually rarely annoyed. The reward was clearly overblown for a man who had wrecked a town; it was not as if he had killed someone.

Still, they were to capture the man and drag him back to the town that had apparently been caught up in a fight between him and another mage. Said mage was currently lying in hospital, wrapped in bandages so the didn't know much with regards to the appearance of their target. Apparently he had black hair, and Levy was really beginning to wonder if, based on such limited information, they would be able to complete their mission.

"I'm hungry." Droy moaned, dragging his feet on the floor behind him. They had been trudging through the landscape for the last three hours, following a faint trail that was doomed to lead nowhere.

"It's only a little walking." Jet shot back.

"But you specialise in running." Droy emphasised.

"He was last seen here." Levy said, halting the bickering of her two companions. Their source for the information had been vague, but it was the only lead they had.

"I don't think he would have gone into the forest." Droy said, "So he must have gone to the town."

"Probably." Levy agreed. The forest emitted a sinister, evil aura.

"Something is wrong with the clouds." Jet pointed out, beckoning to the sky. Grey masses were tumbling over each other in the blue expanse, quickly forming a black group that expanded and filled the whole sky.

The wind picked up. "If this is a tornado, we might get blown away." Droy pointed out, worried.

"I'll tie us down so that doesn't happen." Levy said, quickly beginning to work her solid script magic. The word 'constraint' hit Jet and Droy respectively in the chest, slamming them to the floor so that they were unable to move.

The wind got even stronger and Levy shielded her face against the gale. "Really, what's going ooo—aaaaaaahhh!" She started before the wind picked up her slight frame and hurled her into the sky. It happened so fast, she had no time to quickly ground herself as well.

"Levy!" Jet and Droy shouted, but due to their constrained position they were unable to stop her flying away.

As she flew higher and higher, Levy's vision went black as she gradually slipped out of consciousness.

###

Levy could hear the sound of a fire crackling. Her head hurt as if someone with a hammer was pounding away inside. Actually, her whole body was sore and she winced. Her head was nestling against a pillow and she could feel a roughly spun, wool blanket against her skin. She opened her eyes slowly.

It seemed like she was in a cave, the brown rock veined with white. She moved into a sitting position and glanced around; she was on her own. A pot was simmering above the fire and a black bag was leaning against the wall. The bag of her rescuer. Outside the mouth of the cave she could see green, so she guessed she was in a forest. That was strange, the only forest close by earlier had been the massive, dangerous expanse of trees about which horror stories were told. Her rescuer was nowhere to be seen and apprehension dawned within Levy as she heard heavy footfalls making their way to the mouth of the cave.

"So you're awake, Shrimp." A low voice said and Levy stared at the man before her. He had red eyes and piercings instead of eyebrows. Metal even lined his arms which he folded across his broad chest, muscles rippling, making him look more intimidating then Levy would care to point out. The man's wild mane of black hair was kept out of his face by the help of a bandanna, giving him an untamed look.

"My name is Levy." Levy found herself responding, half-whispering. She wasn't scared exactly; being a member of Fairy Tail, she had faced worse than a scary looking man. Nevertheless, he was still frightfully tall, especially from her seated position. Her voice naturally just came out slightly softer, she convinced herself.

"Okay, Shrimp." The man made his way into the cave, throwing his cloak down next to his bag.

Had he not heard her? She hadn't spoken _that_ quietly.

"Would ya like some soup?" He questioned, and she nodded, pulling the blanket around her and shuffling closer to the fire, all initial trepidation dissolving as her stomach rumbled hungrily. The man handed her a bowl, his large hands covered in gloves and massive compared to Levy's small hands that reached out to intercept the item. Her stomach started rumbling louder and she eagerly started eating, sputtering slightly as the hot liquid scalded her tongue.

"Who are you?" Levy inquired, half way through her soup when curiosity got the better of her.

"Gajeel." The man replied simply, helping himself to his third serving of soup.

"I'm Levy." She repeated, just to make sure she was not called 'Shrimp' again, "But what are you doing here?" Levy could think of no reason for someone to wish to live in a desolate cave. It was cold, damp and devoid of any company.

"I live here." He stated.

Levy stood corrected; someone did live in a desolate cave that was cold, damp and devoid of any company. She still could not think of a reason.

"How long have I been here for?"

Gajeel frowned, "Maybe two days? You were knocked out cold when I found you."

"Where did you find me?"

"You ask too many questions." Gajeel pointed out bluntly and Levy felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"I'm sorry..." She mumbled, aware that she had been rather rude. She could feel Gajeel's gaze on her, making her uneasy, "Well then, my companions are looking for me, I think." Levy thought about Jet and Droy, "No, actually they're probably frantic. It's best if I go then." She hurriedly got to her feet, "Thanks for the food. It was nice meeting you, bye!" With those words, Levy all but fled the cave, Gajeel's eyes still burning into her back.

Why was she getting so flustered all of a sudden?

Not deciding to brood on it, as she would never see the man called Gajeel again, she strode through the darkening forest. She could see the sun sinking over the tops of the trees and was beginning to question if her hasty departure had been the right thing to do after all. Despite the cave being cold, it was definitely warmer than the quickly chilling evening.

She heard a far away howl.

Levy's gut churned and she started walking quicker, almost running. She had never been particularly fond of wolves. The fear was rooted in the fact that most of the childhood fairytales she had consumed in her never ending hunger for reading had involved a big bad wolf, of some kind or another. Except that in real life, there wasn't a lumberjack around to free her from the stomach of the beast.

An animal jumped out in front of her. It was large, at least twice her size, and had a thick, grey pelt that covered its back. Its tummy and legs were protected by thick black scales that became more sparse as the neared the bottom of its legs, from where three long claws protruded from each paw. A long tail, also covered in scales, swung around dangerously. Its tiger-like teeth glinted in the fading light as it snarled at her, a helmet-like, exterior bone structure on its head enabling her to only see the malicious pits of its eyes glowing sinisterly.

It was definitely no wolf.

Levy generally disliked fighting and her current predicament didn't favour her either. Her body was still sore from being flung around by the storm and the only food she had eaten over the past two days was the bowl of soup from before. She slowly backed away until her back hit a gnarled tree trunk. Her legs shook and she suddenly remembered: _I'm a mage_.

Summoning all her courage, she cast the spell Solid Script: Hole onto the ground. The beast moved forward before slipping and crashing, falling into the trap. Levy smiled, however it quickly faltered when the beast easily climbed out, snarling even more ferociously as it came closer. The foul stench from the creature's mouth encompassed Levy and she strongly felt the urge to gag. The smell grew worse as it drew close. She was starting to feel dizzy as she collapsed against the tree behind her.

Tail twitching, the monster was ready to pounce on her.

Just as she thought it was over, an iron club hit her attacker on the side of the head, hurling the gargantuan creature against a tree four metres away.

As she glanced up she saw none other than Gajeel standing above her, "You left so quickly, ya forget your bag in the cave."

Levy was speechless. He had come just to give her that?

The animal evidently did not appreciate being flung against the tree, emitting a loud roar as it turned and faced Gajeel.

"You wanna fight?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows sceptically as he turned to face it, "I've fought one of your type before, and they're awfully boring."

The creature evidently did not appreciate listening to Gajeel either, as it lurched forward with another feral sound escaping its jaws.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" A tornado seemed to shoot from his mouth towards the monster, metal shards flying around as the force slammed into the creature and sent it flying. How far it flew, Levy really didn't care, as long as it was far, far away.

She shakily got up, before slipping down again. Her legs currently refused to be reliable. Then she realised, "You're a dragon slayer?"

He studied her warily before answering, "Yeah."

"I know another dragon slayer..." Levy contemplated, thinking about Natsu. There was something that she should realise, about her mission, but her mind was hazy and she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Ya know, you're really small, shrimp." Levy huffed, about to make a retort to his comment, when he suddenly lifted her up as if she weighed nothing, "But it'd be a bother if you died in this forest with the inquiries and such, so I guess I'll just have to take ya back to your companions myself."

###

It would be too nice of Levy if she said that travelling with Gajeel was pleasant. He was inconsistent, had an appalling appetite, got into fights with others over the most ridiculous petty things and kept. On. Calling. Her. Shrimp.

Her. Name. Was. Levy. McGarden.

Nevertheless, she still felt herself growing oddly fond of the iron dragon slayer. As he gradually opened up and let out more than just biting comments, she began to find herself enjoying his company.

He did the oddest things; he'd leave her behind in a book store, grumbling about it being a waste of time. She could never find him anywhere between the blasted shelves, but as soon as she bought a book or not, exiting the shop he would always find her in the next ten minutes, claiming that it was pure coincidence that he had just finished whatever he was doing and that he had found her so easily afterwards.

So far, it had happened at least five times.

He also refused to travel by train, the main reason they were travelling back to Magnolia by foot. Furthermore, Gajeel ate metal, however when he offered Levy some she had to draw the line and she politely refused, saying it did not really match her taste (or her teeth, for that matter).

As the days went by even further, Levy was beginning to dread returning to the guild. Sure, she missed everyone there, but Gajeel had made it clear from the start that once he had dropped her off, he was leaving, fullstop.

Levy had also managed to figure out what she hadn't been able to place her finger on when she had been in the forest. Gajeel had been the one to wreck the town. It was obvious. Natsu was a dragon slayer and short tempered, being inconsiderate of his surroundings during a fight; he often destroyed towns along with the rest of his team.

Gajeel was exactly the same; a dragon slayer, getting swept away in the heat of the fight.

Levy decided to overlook that fact for the moment. After all, she was beginning to like her new travelling companion more than she should.

She had even stopped complaining about being called 'Shrimp'.

###

"This is it." Gajeel said, stopping before the Fairy Tail guild entrance.

"Thank you." Levy mumbled as ridiculous tears threatened to fall. She hadn't thought she'd have been that sad to say farewell.

With his rough hand, Gajeel cupped her head and tilted it upwards, wiping away a stray tear that had escaped her traitorous tear ducts. His face slowly inched closer until suddenly, the guild door slammed open, causing him to jerk back and drop his hands immediately.

His sudden withdrawal from the kiss consternated her, although it shouldn't have. She thought she heard him mutter 'sorry', but that was preposterous. There was no reason for him to be sorry, unless he regretted what almost happened. The bluenette's heart jerked painfully.

"Levy, where have you been? We were just heading out for another search!" Jet rushed forward, encompassing her in a hug that somehow felt wrong. Unaccustomed.

She was happy to see Jet and Droy, right?

"We've been so worried!" Droy exclaimed, also attempting to suffocate her. Afterwards, both he and Jet proceeded to drag Levy and Gajeel (she wasn't sure why him too) into the guild hall, when really she just wanted to go back to the moment minutes before when Gajeel's face had been dangerously close.

"Levy-chan!" Lucy rushed over, "We found Jet and Droy constrained to the floor, moaning about you having been stolen away by a storm. They must have been there for at least two days. It was lucky we passed by." The blonde shook her head disapprovingly.

"Hey, we weren't that pathetic!" Jet and Droy exclaimed simultaneously.

"You kind of were." Gray pointed out, also coming over to greet Levy.

Despite all her worries, Levy still smiled, "It's good to be back." She had missed the bickering.

"Who's that?" Erza asked the obvious, eyes focused on Gajeel.

"He helped me get here. Otherwise I might still be lost. He also helped me when I was being attacked by a wild animal. He actually managed to beat it in one hit."

Natsu's eyes gleamed at the prospect of a strong opponent.

"Do you want to join the guild?" The master asked.

"WHAT?!" Half the guild exclaimed, turning around to face the master.

"We need another strong member to pay off destruction debts." The master stated. "Of course, we also want caring, loving individuals in our guild to keep peace and tranquillity. The compassion of saving people in need is also essential such as *cough* a master *cough* drowning in *cough* your destruction debts *cough*."

All members of the guild sweatdropped. Sometimes their master was seriously transparent when it came to his goals.

"I'll leave." Gajeel answered, turning around. Levy's heart stuttered, whilst the other members just shrugged it off as a failed attempt of their master to overcome their destruction debts (mainly courtesy of Team Natsu). Within seconds, the guild returned to its normal volume.

Levy rushed after Gajeel. As the guild door closed behind her, Gajeel glanced over his shoulder, "What is it, Shrimp?"

"If you joined, you would have a steady income. And otherwise travelling back to the forest is an awfully long journey." Levy tentatively leaned against the wall next to the door, nervous if she was doing the right thing.

"Any other reasons?" Gajeel raised his eyebrows, turning around and drawing closer.

"No..." Levy trailed off. She was such a coward. She should probably just come clean that she liked him, face rejection like Jet and Droy and move on.

_Except that Jet and Droy haven't moved on yet..._ Levy decided to ignore that fact.

"Really?" Gajeel came even closer, only a metre away now.

"Yes..."

"Are you sure?"Gajeel was right in front of her now, his body only a few centimetres away as he placed his arms on the wall either side of Levy's head. She was pressed against the wall, Gajeel's body caging her in place.

Levy blushed, "Well, I wanted you to stay too..." She looked away, refusing to face him. She knew her face was as red as a tomato by now.

"Then I'll stay." He stated simply, turning her face so that she was looking at him and kissing her right on the lips.

###

Gajeel was getting his guild mark, Levy having not been able to speak to him since the day before and the surprise kiss. After being interrupted outside(by Jet and Droy. Again.) and then saying he was joining after all, he was quickly caught up in the spontaneous guild festivities for his arrival. As they were declared by Cana, it was obvious that she really just wanted an excuse to finally be allowed to open the next barrel. Gajeel looked like he would have rather avoided the celebration, but after he got into an intense fight with Natsu he began to enjoy himself more. Nothing like a fight to set the festival mood in Fairy Tail.

Levy sat down at a table, nursing her drink as she wondered what the kiss before had meant. She was gradually loosing more and more confidence with matters regarding Gajeel, until the master interrupted her growing misery.

"What happened to the mission?" The master inquired, "Were you able to complete it? I've had enough with town councils hounding us for our wreckage, but since your team Shadow Gear agreed on that mission, that posh council has been hounding me as well, saying we should hurry up and find the one responsible..." He looked visibly stressed, but Levy though it better to tell him now, lest the hope for salvation from destruction debts accumulated and the fall was even greater.

"Well, you see master, during the mission I was swept away by a storm among other things, and, well, the man responsible for the destruction has joined the guild just now so now the whole guild is responsible?" Levy rushed, wincing as absolute horror descended upon the master.

"These younglings will be the death of me..." He muttered, before getting louder, "I need a drink! Something strong!"

"Sure." Mirajane smiled, winking knowingly at Levy as Gajeel came over, his new tattoo on his left shoulder.

Levy looked up in surprise.

"Hey, Shrimp." Gajeel picked her up, "Among other things, were you talking about me?" He had obviously heard her before.

A smile broke across Levy's face as she blushed deeply, "Yes." She said and leaned forward and kissed him.

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**A/N: **TADA! Feel free to tell me what you think :) -Mufin


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